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Indiana State beats Missouri State in MVC final

Mar 6, 2011 - 11:33 PM St. Louis, MO (Sports Network) - Aaron Carter led the way with 15 points and Jake Odum finished with 12, as No. 3 seeded Indiana State captured the Missouri Valley Conference title with a 60-56 win over top-seeded Missouri State and earned an automatic bid to the NCAA Tournament.

Carl Richard ended with nine points, while Jordan Printy contributed eight for Indiana State (20-13), which got some clutch free-throw shooting from Odum and Jake Kelly in the waning moments to claim the school's first MVC championship since 2001.

Jermaine Mallett led all scorers with 17 points to go with eight rebounds for Missouri State (25-8), which defeated Southern Illinois and Creighton to get to the conference final. Adam Leonard and Kyle Weems each posted 11 points in defeat. Weems added eight boards.

Missouri State led 31-28 at the intermission, but an 8-0 run to start the second half by the Sycamores gave them a five-point lead three minutes in.

After Nafis Ricks made a pair of free throws to cap a 7-2 burst, the Bears pulled even at 38.

Carter then took over, hitting a three-pointer along with a layup and three free throws to give his squad a 46-38 lead at the midway point.

Missouri State fought back to get to within one on two occasions within the last five minutes, the last when Leonard's trifecta with 27 seconds to play made it a 57-56 game.

However, the Bears were unable to get over the hump, as Odum made one of two at the stripe with 19 seconds remaining to put Indiana State up by two before Mallett turned the ball over on Missouri State's next trip with two ticks on the clock.

Kelly knocked down a pair at the line for a four-point lead with a second remaining to seal the victory for the Sycamores.

Game Notes

These two teams split two meetings during the regular season, with each winning on their own floor.